Rivka Mason works with students in the Malcolm X Elementary School gardens. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.
Rivka Mason works with students in the Malcolm X Elementary School gardens. Photograph by Riya Bhattacharjee.

Page One

Malcolm X School Gardener Wins National Service Award

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 29, 2007

In many ways, Rivka Mason is like any other elementary school gardener who likes to teach students how to grow a green thumb. -more-



Berkeley Health Report: Disparities Persist

By Judith Scherr
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Health staff and public information officers were upbeat last week when they called out the press to a Tuesday morning briefing in which they emphasized the city’s overall good health. -more-



Bus Rapid Transit Foes Applauded At Meeting

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday May 29, 2007

The only hearts and minds Bus Rapid Transit seemed to have captured during an emotional public meeting in Berkeley Thursday were those it already possessed. -more-



Oakland Council Delays Look at Contract Discrimination

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Tuesday May 29, 2007

A long delayed study of fairness in purchasing and contracts by the City of Oakland has shown that minority- and women-owned firms are being discriminated against by city agencies, but contractors will now have to wait another few months to find out what, if anything, Oakland City Council will do about it. -more-



University Describes $130 Million Clark Kerr Campus Rehabilitation

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Berkeley Planning Commissioners got their first look last week at the university’s plans for a $130 million retrofit of the Clark Kerr Campus, the 500-acre, 20-building Spanish Colonial Revival complex on the corner of Derby and Warring streets. -more-



Features

Youth Connect Serves the Young and the Homeless

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Twenty-one-year-old Sam Thompson hasn’t stopped walking since he was released from prison a few weeks ago. Born to homeless parents in Berkeley, Thompson was recently arrested for peddling drugs and is out on felony probation. -more-


High-Density Plan Back on Downtown Committee Agenda

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Though Berkeley planning commissioners last week rejected a proposal to designate the city center a state Priority Development Area as a first step to winning bond funds, the topic is back on the table at the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee (DAPAC). -more-


BUSD Delays Vote on Solar Panels

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday May 29, 2007

The Berkeley Board of Education delayed a vote Wednesday on a proposal to install solar panels on the roof of Washington Elementary School. -more-


Police Offer Reward In Year’s 1st Murder

By Richard Brenneman
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Berkeley Police Friday announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer who claimed the life of Berkeley’s first murder victim of 2007. -more-


Police Blotter

By Rio Bauce
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Assault -more-


Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday May 29, 2007

MISSING THE POINT -more-


Commentary: Common Sense — in Berkeley?

By Sharon Hudson
Tuesday May 29, 2007

How can people live together best? Is it by owning things and working individually, or by sharing things and working together? The 20th century preferred owning, but the 21st century will have to do more sharing—even in a nation blessed with an abundance of space, resources, and wealth. -more-


Commentary: Regional Emergency Radio

By Janet Lockhart
Tuesday May 29, 2007

In event of an emergency or disaster, direct and timely communication among first responders (police, fire and service providers) is the key to successfully responding to and mitigating the impacts to our communities. In the East Bay, we experienced the Loma Prieta earthquake (1989) and the Oakland Hills Firestorm (1991) where communications was identified as a weakness in the response. We also saw the total breakdown that occurred when communications systems failed agencies responding to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The Alameda Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), representing cities, special districts and the county, supports coordinated radio communication interoperability and urges affected jurisdictions/agencies in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties to complete and implement a common radio network and communications system. -more-


Commentary: A Solution to the Federal Budget Impass

By Young Chau
Tuesday May 29, 2007

After four successful years of turning a quick, solid victory in the Iraq war from “Mission Accomplished” to “We’re winning” to “We’re not winning” to “Give it a chance to succeed,” President Bush vetoed the war funding bill because it comes with a withdrawal timeline. He continues to insist on his right as the Commander in Chief to direct duty-bound American soldiers into the Middle East’s Killing Fields without a troop withdrawal deadline, benchmark, or any type of Congressional oversight that would restrain his executive power. -more-


Commentary: Prop. 83: A Fatally Flawed Law

By Tim Ronson
Tuesday May 29, 2007

I don’t write to newspapers—ever. I can’t remain silent any longer, however. I’m compelled to protest against the implementation of a well-intentioned but poorly though tout law, Prop 83. Let me first say that I have absolutely no sympathy for the class of sex offender that I believe this law was aimed at, the very disturbed molesters of young children. Those who rape, torture and damage these innocent, trusting children and are eventually “cured” and released should never be trusted again ever. -more-


Editorial

Edtorial: Fractious Council, Late Nights Make Bad Laws

By Becky O’Malley
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Outside my window the scrub jays are engaged in their annual uproar. It might be about sex, it might be about fledglings, it might be about squirrels—who knows, but there’s always a bunch of them, and they’re always raucous. It’s possible even the jays have forgotten by now why they do it, but they do it every spring. -more-


Columns

Wild Neighbors: Getting to Know Your Local Butterflies

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday May 29, 2007

I don’t usually devote this space to book reviews, but I’m making an exception for the latest in UC Press’s California Natural History Guides series: Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, by Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis. I know there are a bunch of good butterfly guidebooks out there already: Jeffrey Glassberg’s Butterflies through Binoculars: The West, Jim Brock and Kenn Kaufman’s Butterflies of North America, Paul Opler’s Field Guide to Western Butterflies. Well, make shelf room for the new one. -more-


Arts Listings

Arts Calendar

Tuesday May 29, 2007


‘Belefagor’ Opera at San Francisco’s Thick House

By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Books: A Deserter’s Tale of War

By Ying Lee, Special to the Planet
Tuesday May 29, 2007

Events Listings

Berkeley This Week

Tuesday May 29, 2007

Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

Edtorial: Fractious Council, Late Nights Make Bad Laws 05-29-2007

Editorial: Remembering Living Veterans on Memorial Day 05-25-2007

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor 05-29-2007

Commentary: Common Sense — in Berkeley? By Sharon Hudson 05-29-2007

Commentary: Regional Emergency Radio By Janet Lockhart 05-29-2007

Commentary: A Solution to the Federal Budget Impass By Young Chau 05-29-2007

Commentary: Prop. 83: A Fatally Flawed Law By Tim Ronson 05-29-2007

Letters to the Editor 05-25-2007

Letters: Save Yassir Chadly’s Job! 05-25-2007

Commentary: The Housing Scandal: A Perfect Storm By David M. Wilson 05-25-2007

Commentary: Why We Don’t Impeach the President or Stop the War By Bill Hamilton 05-25-2007

Commentary: People Injured in Pit Bull Attack By Sally Tarver 05-25-2007

Commentary: A Modest Proposal Regarding the Ohlone Dog Park By Beverly Slapin 05-25-2007

Commentary: Aloha Rachel Rupert By Winston Burton 05-25-2007

News

Malcolm X School Gardener Wins National Service Award By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-29-2007

Berkeley Health Report: Disparities Persist By Judith Scherr 05-29-2007

Bus Rapid Transit Foes Applauded At Meeting By Richard Brenneman 05-29-2007

Oakland Council Delays Look at Contract Discrimination By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 05-29-2007

University Describes $130 Million Clark Kerr Campus Rehabilitation By Richard Brenneman 05-29-2007

Youth Connect Serves the Young and the Homeless By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-29-2007

High-Density Plan Back on Downtown Committee Agenda By Richard Brenneman 05-29-2007

BUSD Delays Vote on Solar Panels By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-29-2007

Police Offer Reward In Year’s 1st Murder By Richard Brenneman 05-29-2007

Police Blotter By Rio Bauce 05-29-2007

Rosa Parks School Tries Going Solar By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-25-2007

BHS to Give Student Data To Military Recruiters By Riya Bhattacharjee 05-25-2007

City Housing Workers Fight Back By Judith Scherr 05-25-2007

Planners Reject High-Density Downtown Fund Bid By Richard Brenneman 05-25-2007

Council Unravels After Seven Hours of Deliberation By Judith Scherr 05-25-2007

PRC Plans Closed-Door Complaint Hearing; Expects Police Union TRO By Judith Scherr 05-25-2007

UC Custodians Win Raises By Judith Scherr 05-25-2007

Lawsuit Challenges Richmond Casino By Richard Brenneman 05-25-2007

Tod Mikuriya, 1933-2007 By Fred Gardner, Special to the Planet 05-25-2007

Columns

Wild Neighbors: Getting to Know Your Local Butterflies By Joe Eaton 05-29-2007

Column: Dispatches from the Edge: Deja Vu in Afghanistan; Paraguay Political Challenge By Conn Hallinan 05-25-2007

Garden Variety: Try Not to Poison Your Neighbor’s Baby Food By Ron Sullivan 05-25-2007

About the House: How to Handle a Condo at Forty By Matt Cantor 05-25-2007

Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 05-25-2007

Arts & Events

Arts Calendar 05-29-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 05-29-2007

‘Belefagor’ Opera at San Francisco’s Thick House By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 05-29-2007

Books: A Deserter’s Tale of War By Ying Lee, Special to the Planet 05-29-2007

Wild Neighbors: Getting to Know Your Local Butterflies By Joe Eaton 05-29-2007

Berkeley This Week 05-29-2007

Arts Calendar 05-25-2007

Arts and Entertainment Around the East Bay 05-25-2007

Moving Pictures: PFA Presents ‘Shohei Imamura’s Japan’ By Justin DeFreitas 05-25-2007

The Theater: Shotgun Players Stage Mamet’s ‘Cryptogram’ By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet 05-25-2007

Garden Variety: Try Not to Poison Your Neighbor’s Baby Food By Ron Sullivan 05-25-2007

About the House: How to Handle a Condo at Forty By Matt Cantor 05-25-2007

Quake Tip of the Week By Larry Guillot 05-25-2007

Berkeley This Week 05-25-2007

Correction 05-25-2007